12 
DESCRIPTIVE NARRATIVE OE JOURNEY. 
high perpendicular cliffs of conglomerate, and forming a succession 
of beautiful falls. On examining these cliffs, which consisted 
partly of conglomerate and partly of sandstone, I found some 
trees changed into brown coal; at another place a seam of coal, 
about four inches thick, from which I obtained several specimens 
of the tertiary fossiliferous flora and fauna. The junction of the 
Tutald with the Buffer is most picturesque. The former is a very 
rapid stream, winding over and between rocks, into the deeper 
flowing Buffer, which here also forms rapids. After uniting their 
waters, the Buffer disappears, making a sudden turn to the 
south. 
It was in vain that we looked for our men, whom we had ordered 
to join us at the Tutaki; so, presuming that they might have 
experienced some difficulty in coming down the river, we started 
to meet them. Ascending the Buffer for about a mile, we heard 
a voice from the opposite side of the river. It was Puaha, Mr. 
Mackay’s native, who by himself had come down to meet us, and 
from whom we heard that Mr. A. Mackay had found some diffi¬ 
culty in carrying the track along the rugged banks of the Buffer, 
for which reason he had struck a course overland, passing through 
a valley in order to reach the open country, the Buffer having 
here terraces from eighty to one hundred feet high, with a deal of 
level land upon its banks. At every turn the river took we could 
look down upon its swift, unceasing, and, at times, most turbulent, 
course, which lay as it were at our feet; whilst three rugged 
serrated peaks of an isolated range, stiff in parts covered'with 
snow, formed the background, rising to a height of 7,000 feet, 
which I named Mount Owen, in honour of the great English 
paleontologist, Professor Bichard Owen. We camped on & the 
sandy beach of the river, and awaited, with much impatience, the 
result of a fishing party, for we had had nothing to eat, save one 
small piece of damper, during the whole day. We heard with 
pleasure the death blows on the heads of the eels, of which several 
were caught, and which disappeared very soon after they had been 
roasted. J 
After old Puaha’s communication, we knew that the following 
clay held m store for us a long walk, and we half fancied that it 
was impossible to reach the encampment at the junction of the 
Eotoroa and Eoto-iti before night. We started in the mornino- 
With daylight, for our breakfast, which consisted only of biscuit 5 
had been speedily despatched. After a walk of two miles we 
crossed a good sized stream, flowing from Mount Murchison, to 
which, therefore, I gave the same name. On both sides of tb k 
stre an , w e found some nice j evel land , but a ^v C vo^Z it tr 
»"?‘ eS ? ommenc f d > f “ to climb and descend alternately 
o’m " ;" , standing at a height of from 150 
to 200 feet above the river. The vegetation fortunately afforded 
us assistance in our climbing exploits, and by holding on to it we 
I 
